My name is Anthony and I live in a suburb of Los Angeles. I'm 43 and I've grown up with animals my whole life. From a child until my teens I lived with around 15 Boston Terriers as my mother was a breeder. Once I moved out on my own I got my own dogs and cats...all of them rescues. As of now I have one shepherd mix named Sasha and two cats James and Arthur that are brothers. I also have a large pond with 20 large koi. 6 months ago I had 3 dogs...Baby was a rescued Wheaton Terrier and Lucky was a rescued Cocker Spaniel. I had Lucky and Baby for 14 years and I've had Sasha for 10 years. Lucky actually found me on my construction site. I was doing a bathroom remodel and I was grabbing tools out of my van and I felt something cold on the back of my leg...when I turned around there was a puppy smelling my leg. I had only had my construction company for 6 months at that time so I didn't have much money, so I lived in a studio apt that didn't allow pets. I snuck Lucky into my apt in a back pack and fell in love immediately so I found a new place to live that allowed pets. Once I was in my new home I rescued Baby from the shelter so Lucky would have a companion while I worked. One day I returned home to find a shepherd mix puppy tied to a tree in my front yard with a bowl of water. She was welcomed with open arms and her name is Sasha. Baby was put down 6 months ago because she lost half her body weight. She went from 43 pounds to 26 and after spending a little over $2000 trying to save her I decided it was more humane to put her down then continue fighting a losing battle. After all the money and tests the vets were clueless. That left me with Lucky and Sasha as far as dogs go. Well Lucky passed last Friday laying beside me peacefully. I thought I'd take it much worse than I did but I think the fact that he was being treated for a failing heart I was mentally prepared for his passing. I cried all day Friday but Saturday my attention turned to Sasha because I could see she was obviously taking this very hard. When Lucky passed his bladder emptied and Sasha walked over and smelled it and disappeared for an hour. She started losing control of her bladder while just laying around the house. I took her to the vet for medication and decided to start looking for a companion for her immediately. That's what brought me here . Like I said I've done rescue for years but I've always wanted a German Shepherd puppy with good blood lines that I could train or help train. Back to Lucky for a second...Luckys last month was day to day. He could barely walk, his lungs were taking in fluids and his breathing was hard to watch. The only reason I didn't put him down is he was alert as could be. The vet couldn't believe how normal he acted considering everything he was dealing with. For the last 2 weeks before he passed I'd kiss him goodnight and tell him "it's ok to go now trooper" every morning I awoke amazed he was still with me. Once I decided on getting a puppy I decided to name him Trooper in honor of Lucky. I'm getting my puppy through West Coast German Shepherds but I'm not getting one of her in house puppies because her waiting list is insane. I'd have to be on a waiting list 3 litters out and I don't want Sasha to be without a companion for that long. Barbie the owner of WCGSD is awesome and her love for what she does is obvious. She told me she could get me a puppy imported from Germany immediately if I didn't want to wait. She informed me it would cost more money but if I wanted a puppy now she could do it. So I bought one of 3 males she's importing. I get first pick and they arrive July 3rd. I'm so so so excited!!! I can't wait for Sasha to meet him as I know she will treat him as her own puppy. She's laying beside me now and I wish I could tell her what's coming next week. Well actually I do tell her lol but I guess I mean I wish she understood. I'm planning on taking Trooper all the way through IPO3 training just like his father. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of Trooper yet but obviously after July 3rd you guys can see him. Here is a picture of his father in the meantime. Thanks for listening to my long winded story and I look forward to learning from you all.